The oceans have high spots and low spots depending on ocean circulation. Here again, we should have had decades of recordkeeping to better understand our troposphere. However, it is better that we have started than not start at all. The unfortunate aspect of the tardiness of this project is that the Arctic Ocean is expected to be 'ice free' by September. While 'sea level rise' is considered 'static' with the meltdown of the Arctic Ice Cap, the reality is that significant ice masses were at the shorelines of the Arctic Ocean and once melted contributes to sea level rise in several ways, including 'continental rebound.'
This is a good start for such ventures by NASA and should continue. I doubt seriously it will add to the dialogue of circumstances now faced by humanity regarding Human Induced Global Warming resulting in Climate Change.
In mid-June 2008, NASA launched the latest of a series of satellites that scientists use to measure sea level from space. The Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)/Jason-2 uses a radar altimeter to map the height of the ocean surface. The radar sends a pulse of energy down to the ocean surface and listens for the echo. The time delay and intensity of the echo reveal the altitude of the sea surface.
Because water vapor delays the time it takes for the radar pulse to travel to the ocean surface and back, the satellite also carries a sensor to measure atmospheric moisture. The image above shows the first results from this sensor, the Advanced Microwave Radiometer: a global map of the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere beneath the satellite from June 22–28, 2008. The time span was the first week of operations for OSTM’s science instruments. In this image, white and light blue show dry areas; dark blue shows moist regions....
